Published: January 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis
What's Going On?
Captain Britain (AKA Brian Braddock) is dead. He was snuffed out by the cybiote being known as the Fury in an alternate reality, where the Fury had killed every super-hero; the Fury made sure to kill the crap out of Cap, too --- all that was left was ash and bone bits. Apparently, that is not enough to keep a comic character dead, as the mysterious Merlin and his daughter, Roma, spend this entire issue reassembling and reviving the late Captain. While Roma has the "easy" job of re-growing and improving a superhuman body from a hip bone...
Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- This introduces (I think it's the first mention of it, anyways) the concept of Merlin using Captain Britain as a pawn in a larger game. You can't tell exactly what has taken place in this game, but the implication is certainly there that Merlin has been manipulating Brian for many years, perhaps even for his entire life.
-So, Captain Britain is doomed? That might be mentioned again. Just a guess.
Writing!
While it is unusual to spend an entire first issue in a recap, I have to admit that Alan Moore wrote a pretty satisfying issue. It boils the character down to his basics and mentions some of the (presumably) major themes for this series. Not much actually happens in this issue, but the Merlin conspiracy subplot introduces some interesting potential.
Art!
The coloring in my reprinted trade paperback is not the best, but that is certainly not the fault of the wonderful Alan Davis. This issue is a little weird, because so much of it is being seen through a hazy effect, but Davis still manages to make a story that is almost entirely exposition fun to look at.
On a side note, I'm pretty certain that Davis uses almost this exact same panel sequence for Merlin in an issue of Excalibur in the issues leading up to Excalibur (Vol. 1) #50.
Retroactively Amusing
- Since #1 issues are now seen as an inviting jumping-on point, it is funny to see this first issue acting as a direct continuation of a story from another title that just happened the month before.
Worth Noting
- This is actually the third "issue" of Captain Britain from Alans Moore and Davis. The first two came from Marvel Super-Heroes #387 and #388. I put quotations around "issue" because the story is obviously not a full issue's worth; Daredevils and Marvel Super-Heroes were anthology titles that combined previously published American comics with original British comics. As such, the page-count is much reduced when compared to a normal comic book. Still, these are some wonderfully dense and busy pages.
- Captain Britain's powers have been slightly altered in this issue. His powers, once a byproduct of his costume, now originate inside him and the costume has become an amplifier for that power. His personal force field (which apparently was a thing before) has been "limited," but it is not specified how or why. His perceptions have been enhanced.
- Why am I covering a Captain Britain story in a X-Men-centric comic blog? I originally started this with the intention of just re-reading the comics I already had, but reviewing them has given me a new taste for the era. I've already ebay-ed a few X-Men spinoffs from the 80s to get a better picture of the times, with mixed results. More importantly, though, reviewing these old comics makes me think about other old comics that I love, and sub-plots that I never really understood as a child. For example, I have always been a fan of Chris Claremont and Alan Davis' initial run on Excalibur, but I never really understood a large portion of the supporting cast; Saturnyne/Sat-Yr-9, I'm looking at you! So, since Chris Claremont co-created Captain Britain, and Claremont incorporated elements if this run in both Uncanny (circa #200) and Excalibur (vol. 1), and because Captain Britain stories eventually leave a large impact on future X-Man Psylocke's future, I've decided to review this Marvel UK title. *phew!*
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